Friday’s a good a time as any to go on a rant, isn’t it?
So, last night, we’re sitting there watching the news. And here comes this “Heartwarming Story” about a girl & her prom dress. The girl featured was trying to sell her prom dress for one reason or another. It was really stunning, this brilliant purple number with loads of sparkles & yards of tulle. She said she felt like a princess in it. She put it on one of those Facebook yard sale sites & she got two men making fun of how big it is (size 29). The comments were ugly, but several other people came to her rescue, fighting back & defending the young girl.
Here’s my piece:
It would be great if we lived in a world where no one said anything hurtful, ever. But we don’t. Bullying has been around since kids began playing together. In farm animals, it’s called “establishing pecking order”. The weakest are at the bottom, the first ones to fall prey to predators. Somebody always has something to say. I’ve been tormented since a young age for a variety of reasons: my hair, my teeth, my glasses, my overall nerdiness. People are cruel. It doesn’t get better with age. Teenagers will make fun of you for your clothes, your acne, your vehicle. Even your taste in music. Then the real pressure begins, with drugs, drinking, & sex. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, we all went through some type of prejudice growing up. It’s worse now, I believe, with social media making everything virtually public. You don’t have to post a thing to get embarrassed or made fun of. Someone will ensure that for you. And sometimes it’s not strangers, it’s the people who are closest to you, who know where to cut to bring the most blood the quickest. It may not even be ABOUT you, it may be about the people you love. But I do believe that what we go through toughens you for the “Real World”. Your boss is going to say hurtful things, some you deserve to hear…some, not so much. If you work in any sort of customer service field, you better grow some thick skin because you’re going to hear it all. I had an old man tell me the other day he wished he’d never laid eyes on me (he wasn’t joking, either). His wife gasped, but without missing a beat, I told him I wished the same about him. She said, “Didn’t that hurt your feelings?” I looked her right in the eye & said, “A lion doesn’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep.” That has become my motto. Only two people’s opinions matter to me: My husband’s, and the Good Lord’s. I haven’t always been that way. Really, it’s only came about in the last seven or eight years. I used to cry all the time. I don’t always retaliate, and sometimes taking the high road is mighty treacherous & narrow. But after so many years, you learn who is worth your breath & who is just trying to get a rise out of you for their own enjoyment. And I still strongly believe the people who are ugly to you are jealous, and trying to keep attention diverted from their own weaknesses & failings.
Those men had no business looking at a prom dress. They had less business picking on a young girl, who for all they know has emotional stability issues. But hopefully she got some perspective from this situation & will grow stronger for it.
Anyway, y’all have a nice day. If somebody wants to talk smack, send ’em to me. I can take it